Students of the-only-in-the-Ural-Federal-District Faculty of Aerospace Engineering have for the first time taken their practical training at the Department of Aerospace Forces of the Military Training Centre of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. The future engineers familiarized themselves with the real Aerospace Forces equipment, studied its design and configuration, and even tried their hand in operation of unmanned aerial vehicles.
The interaction between the Faculty and the Department of Aerospace Forces would help combine the theoretical and engineering training of students and the practical experience of understanding how their future developments would behave in operation.
“It is very helpful for the future aircraft-and-rocket designers and engineers to study the configurations of the apparatus, which they will be designing further on. That’s why we decided to organize practical classes on using the already created constructions, so that our students could see how such equipment behaves in real-life conditions,” noted Deputy Director for Aerospace Engineering of the Institute of Engineering and Technology Ekaterina Zarnitsyna.
In the course of their training, students learn the specifics of unmanned aviation equipment operation and the principles of functioning of various systems, as well as polish their practical skills that would come in handy in their future professional activity.
“It’s very important when a specialist him-/herself understands the essence of a problem and knows exactly what requires further improvement in the equipment. That’s why, jointly with the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, we elaborated a plan of organizing such classes for students. They train on simulators and practically learn to control aircraft. That is, they learn to understand and use in practice the apparatus that they will be inventing themselves. It’s especially great that both girls and boys actively participate in this training, and they already demonstrate good piloting techniques,” emphasized Deputy Head of the Military Training Centre, colonel Aleksandr Shkrebtii.
Special interest of the participants was sparked by the opportunity to perform piloting elements using computer simulators and real drones. Under the guidance from experienced instructors of the Military Training Centre, the future engineers tried to perform some elements of unmanned aerial vehicles operation.
“This is a unique opportunity, especially for girls. I really enjoyed my participation in this training. It is a helpful experience indeed: we not only study the equipment in theory, but also can feel it and understand how it works in practice. For us, as the future engineers, it is truly important,” shared her impressions student of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering Veronika Moskvina.
The organizers promise that training classes for aircraft builders at the Department of Aerospace Forces as part of the educational process will be held on a regular basis and will help students polish their practical skills. Having gained real piloting experience, the future engineers already began to actively discuss the development of their own series of drones engineered at South Ural State University. So, the first UAV created by Ural students is just around the corner!